Wolves looking to sign “excellent” Olympic defender right now

Wolverhampton Wanderers and manager Gary O’Neil are reportedly looking at signing an “excellent” free agent right now, according to one journalist.

Wolves suffer Yerson Mosquera injury blow

The Old Gold haven’t had the start to the new Premier League campaign that they would have wanted, failing to win any of their opening five top-flight fixtures. To rub salt into the wound, things went from bad to worse on Saturday during a 3-1 defeat to rivals Aston Villa after defender Yerson Mosquera was forced off through injury. The club has since confirmed that he is unlikely to play again this season.

Mosquera was a regular under O’Neil during the early stages of the campaign, playing every Premier League minute before going off against Villa, with Wolves’ head of high performance Phil Hayward claiming that it is unlikely Mosquera will play again in 24/25 as he requires surgery.

“Yerson has now had all of the various assessments and scans which unfortunately confirm injuries to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). We will be visiting specialists in the coming days to finalise the plan for surgery; this will take place in the next two weeks. Timescales are difficult to state prior to surgery but it is highly unlikely he will feature again this season.”

As a result, it looks as if Wolves could turn their attention to the free agent market to replace Mosquera, with one experienced defender being looked at.

Wolves eyeing free agent James Tomkins

According to HITC journalist Graeme Bailey, Wolves are considering a move to bring former West Ham and Crystal Palace centre-back James Tomkins to Molineux.

The 35-year-old is still without a club after leaving Selhurst Park in the summer, and being a right-footed centre-back could slot in to replace Mosquera in the squad over the coming months or possibly for the rest of the season.

Wolves are only able to bring in English-based free agents as there is no space left in O’Neil’s 25-man squad for any non-homegrown players, so Tomkins could be the man to arrive. An experienced defender, Tomkins is also an Olympian after representing Great Britain back in 2012. He came in for praise while at Crystal Palace under Roy Hodgson, who called him “excellent” and a “senior figure” back in 2019.

“He’s been excellent. He was fantastic the other night in a tough game for us. He handled it brilliantly. We have been lucky to have Tomkins and Sakho as our centre backs. He is taking on the role as the senior figure.”

It looks as if a cut-price and short-term move to Wolves for Tomkins could be one to look out for in the coming days and weeks, going off this transfer update from Bailey.